Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced on Monday a partial cabinet reshuffle, including 13 ministries and five posts.
He said this move aims at injecting fresh blood into his government, which has been widely criticized for failing to fix an economic crisis.
Chahed named Jewish businessman Rene Trabelsi as minister of tourism, according to Reuters.
He replaced Selma Elloumi, who has become the cabinet’s chief of staff.
The announcement of the cabinet reshuffle came after a political crisis that lasted for months amid pressure exerted by Nidaa Tunis party and Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT).
Since the toppling of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, Tunisia’s economy has struggled and nine cabinets have failed to resolve a set of persistent economic problems, including high inflation and unemployment.
The Premier named a former foreign minister under Ben Ali, Kamel Morjan, as the new minister in charge of the public sector, the country's main employer.
Hisham Ben Ahmed was appointed as minister of transport, replacing Radwan Ayara, who has become responsible for immigration and Tunisians abroad.
Mohamed Fadhel Mahfouz, for his part, has become in charge of relations with constitutional bodies, civil society, and human rights. Karim al-Jamousi is now the minister of justice and Nour al-Din al-Salmi is the minister of processing, housing, and land preparation.
Chahed appointed Sonia Beshikh as minister of youth and sports, Abdel Raouf El Sherif minister of health, Mukhtar Hammami as minister of local affairs and environment, El-hadi Elmakni as minister of state property and real estate affairs and Saida Lounisi as minister of vocational training and employment.
